Lighting fixture



March 27, 1962 M. THOMSEN 3,027,451

LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed Nov. 5, 1959 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jim" 7201218610 ATTORNEYS March 27, 1962 M. THOMSEN LIGHTING FIXTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1959 INVENTOR 1%! Fiona?! March 27, 1962 M. THOMSEN LIGHTING FIXTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 5. 1959 I N VENTOR M? ifiwms'em ATTORNEY United rates Eaten-t 3,fi27,i5l Patented Mar. 27, 1952 fine 3,027,451 LIGHTDJG FIXTURE Max Thomsen, Moundsville, W. Va., assignor to Sylvania Electric Products Inc, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 851,064 3 Claims. (Ci. 240-5111) The present invention relates in general to electric lighting fixtures and more particularly to fixtures employing elongated tubular light sources, such as fluorescent lamps. While the following description of the invention will be in connection with fluorescent lighting fixtures, it will be apparent that the invention will be equally applicable to other types of lighting fixtures.

Herctofore, in fluorescent lighting fixtures of the type commonly available on the market, it has been inconvenient and difficult to gain access to the interior of the fixture for servicing or lamp replacement purposes. Usually, the fluorescent lighting fixtures are of such construction that a number of light diffusing panels or louvretype grids must be wholly removed from the lighting fixture in order to gain access to the wiring, electrical components and fluorescent tubes. Because these light diffusing panels or louvres are frequently of fragile material, great care must be exercised in handling these elements during removal from the fixture and in protecting these elements against damage while the fixture is being serviced.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a lighting fixture which may be readily cleaned and kept at high operating efliciency.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel lighting fixture for fluorescent lamps and the like which may be readily disassembled to permit interchanging of components.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel lighting fixture for fluorescent lamps and the like having mounting means for louvres associated with the fixture for selective removal of the iouvres totally from the fixture or swinging of the lcuvres to a position affording easy access to the lamps or other parts for servicing.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel lighting fixture for fluorescent lamps and the like having a louvre and louvre supporting structure which will enable the louvre to be swung downwardly to permit easy access to the fluorescent lamps without complete detachment of the louvre from the fixture so that the louvre may be supported entirely from the fixture in a safe manner while servicing.

Other obects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating one preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture of the fluorescent type, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the lighting fixture with parts broken away to reveal the internal construction thereof;

FiGURE 3 is a vertical transverse section view of the lighting fixture on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 33 of FEGURE 2, illustrating the louvre in normal horizontal position;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse vertical section view taken from a section plane similar to that of FIGURE 3, and illustrating the louvre in downwardly shifted position to expose the interior of the fixture;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section view more clearly illustrating the nature of the latch mechanism associated with the louvre;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the end portion of the basic lighting fixture components, with some parts illustrated in exploded form;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a typical plastic louvre assembly that may be used in the lighting fixture; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a typical dished plastic shield assembly that may be used in the lighting fixture.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference char acters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the fluorescent lighting fixture: of the present invention, generally indicated by the reference character 10, comprises an elongated chassis 11 which is preferably in the form of a downwardly opening channel having depending sides 12 extending the full length of the chassis. The chassis 11 supports a pair of opposite end plates 13 having U-shaped retainer brackets l i thereon affixed to the ends of the chassis sides 12. The end plates 13 each have an inwardly directed peripheral flange or lip 15 extending around the perimeter thereof along all but the downwardly projecting part of the end plates and a flat outer surface adapted to abut the end plates 13 of like fixtures forming continuous rows of fixtures. At the ends of continuous rows of fixtures or individual fixtures, ornamental end caps 16 may be removably secured against the end plates 13, as by integral pins extending from the ends caps 16 through registering openings in the endplates i3 and retainers fixed on the ends of the pins. The end plates 13 in the preferred embodiment herein illustrated support a pair of lamp holders 17 of conventional construction for a pair of tubular fluorescent lamps 18.

The chassis ll. is adapted to support within the downwardly opening channel the usual Wiring and auxiliary devices for operating the fluorescent lamps. The wireway between the sides 12 of the chassis 11 is covered by a shallow V-shaped wireway cover 19 which may be suitably surfaced to form a reflector. The cover 19 is removably supported from the chassis assembly by snap connections of conventional construction, such, for example, as projections 2i on the sides of the retainer bracket 14 extending through slots in the channel sides 12; to be frictionally seated in openings 21 in the marginal flanges of the wireway cover 19.

Oranmental fixture side pieces 22 are provided for each side of the fixture to extend the length thereof between the opposite end plates 13 and include upper partial ellipse formations 23 conforming to the shallow ellipse defined by the upper portions of the peripheral flange i5 and depending formations 24 conforming to the corresponding portions of the flange 15. The fixture side pieces 22 are adapted to be inserted upwardly between the end plates 13 and into nested relation .with the flanges 15 of the end plates to occupy the positions illustrated in FIGURES 3 and Sand are retained in such assembled positions by means of rotatable clip members 26 pivotally supported on the flanges 15 bounding the upper peripheral portions of the end plates 13 and having shoulders 27 formed thereon adapted to be brought into abutment with the webs 25 of the fixture side pieces 2-2. It will be apparent that the fixture side pieces 22 can be conveniently and economically produced from plastic or metal by well-known extrusion techniques and will lend a highly attractive and ornamental character to the fluorescent lighting fixture.

.A louvre 28 may be provided to control the light emitted by the fluorescent, lamps 18,- the louvre being formed in accordance with conventional practice as a gridwork of transverse and longitudinal slats of thin plastic or metallic material, and includes, in the preferred embodiment, a V-shaped reflector 29' which extends longitudinally along the center of the louvre 23 formed as a more acute V than the wireway cover 19.

The louvre 28 is supported in a novel fashion by means of hanger pins 30 and 31 projecting inwardly from the inner surfaces of the end plates 13. Each of the end-most transverse slats 32 of the louvre 28 are provided with a first slot 33 having a vertical entrance leg 34 opening through the upper edge of the slat 32 adjacent one lateral edge thereof and a horizontal leg 35 extending inwardly from the lower end of the vertical leg 34 and terminating in a recessed portion rising vertically from the legs 35 and bounded upwardly by a hook-shaped formation 36 adapted to fit over one of the hanger pins 30 and retain the associated portion of the louvre 2'8 suspended therefrom. A second slot 37 is provided at the other lateral edge of each of the end-most transverse slats 32 having a horizontal leg 38 opening through the adjacent lateral edge of the slat 32 and an inclined leg 39 extending downwardly and inwardly from the inner end of the horizontal leg 38. The slot 37 is designed to receive one of the hanger pins 31, and has a hinge-forming latch 40 associated therewith pivoted at 41 to the slat 32 and having a hook-shaped terminal formation 42 adapted to extend over the entrance portion of the horizontal leg 38 of slot 37 and close the same against with drawal of the hanger pin 31 therefrom.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the louvre 28 may be readily assembled with the lighting fixture by shifting the right-hand lateral edge of the louvre 28, as viewed in FIGURE 3, upwardly in a direction to pass the hanger pins 31 into the horizontal legs of the slot 37 while the pivoted latch 40 is held up at approximately the broken line position illustrated in FIGURE 5, and the latch 40 may then be released to gravitationally shift to the solid line position illustrated in FIGURE 5. With the louvre positioned relative to the hanger pins 31 so that the pins 31 abut the left-hand end of the inclined legs 39 of 'the slots 37 to properly align the vertical legs 34 of the slots 33 with the hanger pins 30, the other end of the louvre may then be lifted upwardly until the hanger pins 33 pass to the bottoms of the vertical entrance legs 34 and then shifted laterally to the left as viewed in FIGURE 3 until the hook formations 36 bounding the terminal portion of the horizontal leg 35 fits over the pins 31 with the pins 31 seated in the recessed portions of the slot legs 35. The louvre will then be suspended by the pins 30 and 31 in horizontal position as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

When it is desired to gain access to the interior of the lighting fixture to, for example, replace the fluorescent lamps 18, the above-described procedure is reversed by lifting the left-hand end of the louvre 28 so as to shift the nose of each of the hook-shaped formations 36 to a position above the pins 30, then shifting the louvre to the right as viewed in FIGURE 3 and tilting the same downwardly about the pins 31 until the louvre occupies the broken line position illustrated in FIGURE 4. It will be noted that it is not necessary to wholly remove the louvre 28 from the lighting fixture and provide another protected location therefor, as the louvre is supported entirely from the pins 31 and effectively retained against dislodgment by the hinge-forming latches 46 to prevent accidental disengagement and damage to the louvre. Ready access may then be had to the wireway by simply disengaging the wireway cover 19 from sides 12 of the chassis 11. The fixture side pieces 22 may also be readily removed for cleaning or other desired purposes by rotating the clip member 26 about their respective pivots to, for example, the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 whereupon the fixture side pieces 22 may be readily withdrawn inwardly and downwardly from nested relation with the end plate flanges E in the manner illustrated.

When it is desired to remove the louvre 28 from the lighting fixture, this can be accomplished readily by the operator by shifting the louvre upwardly slightly from the position illustrated in solid lines in FIGURE 5 until the nose of the hook formation on the hinge-forming latch 48" is above the level of the associated hanger pin 31 and then tilting the hinge-forming latch 4% to the broken line position illustrated in FIGURE 5 to clear the entrance end of the horizontal legs 38 of slot 37 for passage of the hanger pin 31 outwardly through this leg of the slot 37.

This hinging and latching mechanism permits the basic lighting fixture to be used with many different types of shielding or light control members other than the metal louvre assembly 28 described above, and permits the customer to readily interchange light control members. For example, plastic louvre assemblies, as indicated at 45 in FIGURE 7, or dished plastic shield assemblies, as indicated at 5d in FIGURE 8, may be easily inserted into and suported on the fixture in place of the metal louvre assembly 28. It is only necessary that the plastic louvre, or plastic shield, or other light control medium, be of proper dimensions to fit between the end plates 13 and the proximate edges of the side pieces 22, and that they be provided with transverse end slots or frame members conforming to the construction of the end slats 32 pre= viously described in connection with the metal louvre 28. This fixture construction allows for insertion, removable hinging and support of any of the various types of shield= ing or light control mediums without bending or flexing the material such as may possibly damage or distort the material and greatly expands the ornamental and light control variations that may be obtained with the basic fixture.

While but one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described, it will be apparent that various modifications may be made therein within the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is desired therefore that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lighting fixture comprising an elongated upper member having opposite ends and sides, elongated tubular lamps supported on said upper member, a light controlling member supported by said upper member below said tubular lamps including an elongated slat-like hanger member adjacent each end of the light controlling member extending transversely of the fixture and having top and bottom edges and opposite ends adjacent the sides of said upper member, each of said hanger members having a rigid, downwardly facing hook part located wholly inwardly from one end of the hanger member between said top and bottom edges and an L-shaped access slot for. said hook part opening upwardly through the top edge thereof and a hanger slot adjacent the opposite end of the hanger member, each of said hanger slots having an errtrance leg opening laterally through an end of the inner member, a pair of hanger pins carried by each end of said upper member located adjacent the opposite sides of the fixture to project into co-active supporting relation with said hook part and into said hanger slots to support the light controlling member in a horizontal position, said access slots each having a portion for accommodating movement of the light controlling member angularly about the associated hanger pins and transversely of the fixture to release the hook parts from their associated hanger pins and displace the hanger pins through said L-shaped access slots, said hanger members each having a pivoted closure latch member for blocking passage of the hanger pins outwardly through the entrance legs of said hanger slots terminating in a hook portion to book about the associated hanger pins upon downward tilting of the light controlling member about such hanger pins and support the light controlling member in such downwardly tilting position, said pivoted latch member being shiftable to a position freeing said entrance leg for passage of the associated hanger pin therethroiigh to permit the light controlling member to be removed from said upper member.

2. A fluorescent lighting fixture comprising an elongated chassis member, end plates affixed to the ends of said chassis member, elongated tubular lamps supported on said end plates in laterally flanking relation to said chassis member, a louvre in the form of a series of parallel slats extending transversely of the fixture adapted to normally assume a horizontal position below said lamps, the end slats of said louvre being disposed closely adjacent said end plates in vertical planes and having top and bottom edges and opposite ends, hanger pins on said plates located adjacent opposite sides of the fixture projecting from said end plates into coactive supporting relation with said end slats, said end slats each having a rigid, downwardly facing hook part and an adjoining L-shaped access slot adjacent one end of the end slat, said hook part and access slot being located wholly inwardly of the adjacent end of the end slat with said access slot opening upwardly through the top of the slat and extending downwardly and inwardly to a seating recess bounded by said hook part to releasably receive and hook over one of said hanger pins, said end slats each having a second slot adjacent the other end of the end slat to receive a hanger pin for supporting the louvre, said second slot including a substantially horizontal leg having an entrance end opening laterally outwardly through the adjacent end of the end slat and in inclined leg to permit limited lateral and upward movement of the louvre relative to its associated hanger pin whereby the louvre may be tilted about the hanger pins disposed in said second slots to disengage the hook part from the hanger pins and shifter laterally and dowrr wardly about the hanger pins in said second slots to pass the hanger pins out of said first slots, and a pivoted closure latch on said end slats for the entrance ends of said second slots having a hook end extending across the entrance end of each of said second slots for preventing passage of said hanger pins outwardly therethrough and to hook upon the associated hanger pins when the louvre is tilted downwardly about the last-mentioned hanger pins and support the louvre in downwardly hung relation therefrom, said closure latch being shiftable to a position freeing said entrance ends of said second slots for passage of their associated hanger pins therethrough.

3. In a fluorescent lighting fixture, the combination recited in claim 2, wherein said end plates each include an upwardly projecting peripheral flange section adjacent the opposite sides of the fixture spaced apart at the lower region to provide a louvre passageway therebetween, each flange section including a pair of vertically spaced, outwardly convergent flange surfaces, a pair of elongated side pieces for the fixture having marginal portions conforming in profile to the contour of said flange surfaces to be inserted upwardly through said louvre passageways when said louvre is removed from the fixture and shifted outwardly to nest between said convergent flange surfaces of the associated flange section, said side pieces having bearing lips projecting inwardly of said louvre passageways to bear upwardly against the bottom edges of said series of slats at the opposite ends thereof when said slats occupy their normal horizontal position with the louvre supported on said hanger pins, and clip means supported on said flange sections for releasably holding said side pieces in nested relation in their associated flange section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 993,085 Little May 23, 1911 2,427,084 Alderman Sept. 9, 1947 2,566,845 Levaur et al. Sept. 4, 1951 2,587,920 Stubbs Mar; 4, 1952 2,597,875 Krueger May 27, 1952 2,701,840 Carlson Feb. 8, 1955 2,712,594 Zingone July 5, 1955 2,724,047 Zurawski Nov. 5, 1955 

